Sledneck, you must be an auto mechanic, to delve into this on your own. I used to do automotive, and these types of repairs are a daily occurrence. As a matter of fact, I just ground a wheel bearing off one of my Explorer's spindles, and replaced it last month.

So, did the repair using the old seal work out for you? I don't touch this job because usually the seal is the cause of the bad bearings, and last I looked, Whirlpool won't sell anyone the seal, with out the outer tub. Also, the shaft gets messed up and grooved, so most times you also need to replace the shaft too ensure there aren't any future problems. This gets the price WAY up there.

The seal should never leak water into the bearings in the first place. A bad seal is what usually takes the bearings out. I would never do this job, as a professional service, without access to a new seal.

Close, I am a mechanic, just not automotive. I started out as an aerospace ground support equipment mechanic, and now I work on aircraft. As far as I can tell the repairs I made are holding up, even with re-using the seal. In fact, I think I may have passed the point where my repairs have held up longer than the factory originals? I used much higher quality bearings, and I made sure that I packed the cavity between the front bearing and seal with grease. Initially I was concerned with grease potentially getting on my clothes, but it hasnt been an issue. The seal really is the problem with the design, its a cheap single flange from what I remember. Hair wrapped around the drum spindle and unseated my seal, allowing water to flow into the bearing cavity. The seal wasnt damaged at all and still fit nicely on the spindle. The store I bought the bearings from found a suitable replacement, but didnt have it on hand, and I couldnt wait, so I had to reuse the old one.

The seal might be a little overpriced but it's still a lot cheaper than a rear tub. Of course, you can just buy the bearings somewhere else for cheaper. If you can find the seal anywhere else for a lower price, let me know.

The seal might be a little overpriced but it's still a lot cheaper than a rear tub. Of course, you can just buy the bearings somewhere else for cheaper. If you can find the seal anywhere else for a lower price, let me know.

If the seal is an OEM part, I understand the price, especially if you can only buy it from an authorized repair facility. The place I bought the bearings from was able to measure and match the seal perfectly(they just didnt have it in stock), the only difference wouldve been the absence of the exterior flange that extended outward and matched the tub bearing housing bevel. I'm not 100% sure why that outer flange is on there, it appeared to me though, to be an easy way to visually ensure the seal was seated properly.